Congress: The Unpopular

No one likes Capitol Hill leadership. And they like Nancy Pelosi least of all – the former speaker and current minority leader gets a 31%/48% fav/unfav from Gallup. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is a 27%/38%, followed by John Boehner 31%/41% and Mitch McConnell 26/34%.

You’ve got a friend… National Journal: “The very conservatives the senator [Pat Toomey] counted among his most ardent supporters during a 2004 primary campaign against then-Sen. Arlen Specter had suddenly made Toomey a target. And for the first time since he assiduously began building a reputation as a moderate lawmaker—an effort that includes moderation on gay rights and other cultural topics—the senator faces uncertainty within his base. The question Toomey must now answer is whether he will continue his periodic jaunts toward the political middle, or if the backlash will keep him faithful to conservatives even as he approaches his 2016 reelection in blue Pennsylvania.”

Political Wire: "‘Liberals may have cheered when Montana Sen. Max Baucus announced he would retire in 2014 and give up his stranglehold on the Senate Finance Committee gavel. But the likely ascent of Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden to the top of the committee creates its own problems for Democrats,’ Roll Call reports.”